Lost... somewhere between heaven and hell.

Trip to heaven and hell (part 1)

Its 6:05. Our train leaves in precisely ten minutes. Up till minutes ago we were trying to figure out if we were heading towards right station. We, that would be Maryann
(who is praying with beads in her hand,) Abhinav (who is at least visibly nonchalant,) and yours truly (I am slightly less freaked, I have been to a station and known that the train left a day earlier!) are sprinting across the station to get into the hallowed train. This is the time for classic Binny comment... she is by herself, lost in this godforsaken station.

Abhinav: Binny keep your eyes out for the train.

Binny: Where do I keep my eyes? on my hand?

Abhinav: No keep your eyes in your head.

Yes. This is what set the tone for the endless cracked up jokes, and mad laughter. While we are used to this particular style of living, I was unsure as to whether Mr. Higgins was up to the task. The events that followed proved him to be worthy of being a national apartmentaite! which is an achievement of course! So now we finally boarded the train exactly three minutes before it left, and Maryann realized, to her utter dismay, that Indian trains are dirty. Eureka! I froze to death in the train, and that is no exaggeration. After a sleepless, cold, miserable night, I was beginning to wonder whether this trip was actually worth it... and then to convince me that this was a great idea... our train starts running late! We reach Benaras three hours late, and we congratulate ourselves on a great job done, we had planned this trip last September. Talk about great time around time.

The first thing that hits you about Benaras is its antiquity. A city which has been there for the last 2000 years. The small gallis immortalized in Ray's Aparajito, are lined with buildings that have seen time pass it by and tales of several lives. We walk through several of these gallis to reach the guest house, which turned out to be a small comfi bungalow on the ghat. This is the part in the film where things start going right :)

I spent a considerable fraction of this trip sitting on the balcony, looking at the ghat and the Ganga, and procrastinating about life over several gallons of tea, and cigarettes. There was a method to the process, and I have finally arrived at the conclusion that I am driving myself nuts. I really need a break from being me! There are two ways to achieve this, either stop being me, or go into my own sweet comfortably warm and numb world. Since the first one is both improbable and impossible, I think the second one will be the route to peace. More on that later. I promise this was the only boring para in this lay. No scope for boredom, henceforth.

I had wanted to go back to Benaras for a long time. I am yet to understand what draws me to that place. Its not exactly an ideal holiday destination, and the place has way too much of filth for my liking. But something about the faith thats held in that place is overwhelming. Its a cradle of civilization, everyday people come here to get rid of their sins in its many temples and the River, and then go back to committing the same sins in their lives.

We unpacked at the guest house and freshened up, during which Abhinav realized that this was his opportunity to get lots of pics with his fellow passengers, three ladies! His luck I tell you! He also sees some hot (Humpacious is the adjective he crafted later for the purpose) firangi chick, and promptly wears his glares, so that he can stare without being glared at! I later discovered that the best way to get him to concede a point in an argument, is to ensure that there is a 'Humpacious' female in his line of vision, he promptly fumbled up, and gave in.

After making a round of the temples by the ghat, we got to see the arati on ghats of the River. Beads of light flowing on the river, each diya attached to a person's hopes, and prayers. I saw mine sail away with my dreams engulfed in its rays, a distant light on the water. To be continued...